Not Our Song
by lisa2302
Summary: A deeper look into Nathan and Peyton's relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Nathan, Peyton or anything related to OTH.  
**Summary:** A deeper look into Nathan and Peyton's relationship.  
**Notes:** I've always thought there was more between Nathan and Peyton than the show ever really portrayed. So, this is my take on their relationship. I don't know whether I'm going to keep them together, because I don't think they're right for each other when it all comes down to it, but I do believe there's a reason they were together.  
**Rating:** PG 

_Not Our Song_  
Chapter 1

Peyton sat indian style in the corner of her closet. Her sketchbook lay in her lap and her pencil in her hand. It was something she did everyday, sometimes well into the night. Her web cam pointed towards the door, not her. She was secretly hoping someone was watching. And not just anyone. There was someone in particular she wanted to be watching. Someone who she needed to be watching. She hoped he was. She tried to forget about him, but that was pointless. Everything she did, especially drawing, always involved him somehow. She liked it, or a part of her liked it. Peyton sunk back into her work and waited. She waited almost an hour and the phone rang. She looked at the caller ID display and smiled as she answered.

"What are you doing?" He asked getting to the point. He never did well with pleasantries.

"Drawing."

"No you're not."

"How do you know?"

"Because I can't see you."

"You watch me?"

"You know I watch you, Peyton. I bought you the web cam." She smiled. "So what are you really doing?"

"Drawing. I turned the web cam away."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to see if you would call and you did."

"I watch you draw every night. It's the only thing I can pretty much count on."

Peyton sat down in front of her desk and turned the web cam to her. "What do you see now?" She asked sticking out her tongue.

"My girlfriend acting like a dumbass." He replied playfully.

"You are watching!" She said with a smile.

"You don't have to play games with me, Peyton."

"I'm not. I just…I wanted to see if you'd notice."

"Am I really that bad of a boyfriend that you have to set me up to see if I care?"

"No. It was just for my piece of mind."

"Well, do you have it now?" He asked a bit annoyed.

"Yeah. So what are you doing?"

"About to take a shower."

"Oh really." Nathan smiled as an evil grin spread across his girlfriend's face. "You know you could always shower here." He chuckled lightly.

"You don't know how much I'd like to, but Grandpa came into town and Dad's making me go to dinner with the two of them."

"That sounds fun." She said making a disgusted face.

"I can see you, Peyton. And I know it's going to suck, but Grandpa's worse than Dad about these things, so I'm stuck."

"I'm sorry. But I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We'll do something."

"We, as in me and you? Or 'we' as in me, you, Tim, Brooke, and everyone else."

"I don't know yet."

"Okay." She couldn't help but sound a bit disappointed. It seemed they never did anything alone.

"I know you're tired of hanging out with the guys, but they're the guys, you know? But I'll try and make it just me and you. I promise."

"Thanks."

"Well, I better go. Night Peyton."

"Night."

Peyton sighed as she hung up the phone. She really wished they could be alone. Things were easier when they were. They didn't fight that much when everyone else wasn't involved. She believed that their problem wasn't them, it was everyone else in their business. Nathan was different when it was just the two of them. She knew why he acted the way he did most of the time, but it still hurt that he wouldn't put her first. But he did call and that counted for something. It was enough for now.

----

Read & Review Please!


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you everyone for your reviews. I've always been interested in Nathan and Peyton's relationship prior to what we were shown. _

**Chapter 2**

After Nathan's phone call, Peyton went back to work on her drawings. She was thankful everyday that she had some sort of way to vent her feelings. She wasn't much of a bare-your-soul kind of girl and drawing helped her make sense of life or at least parts of it.

"What's up Blondie?" A cheerful voice filled the room and Peyton smiled as she looked up and greeted her best friend.

"What are you up to Brooke? I figured you'd be hitting the party circuit by now."

"Oh, I will be. I was just seeing what my bestest friend was up to tonight. I missed you after school today."

"Yeah, I was in the art room."

"Of course," Brooke said rolling her eyes. "I don't know what you get out of that dark and dreary artwork of yours. It just brings me down. So you and Nate got plans tonight?"

"He's having dinner with his dad and his grandpa."

"Now if that doesn't sound like a recipe for disaster, I don't know what does. Why would he want to sit through all that when he could spend the evening with the second hottest girl in Tree Hill?"

"I don't think he had much of a choice in the matter."

"Guess not. So what are your plans?" Peyton held up her sketchbook. "I see. You want to come with? There's plenty of fun to be had without Nathan Scott."

"Thanks, but I'm kind of tired."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm just not in a party mood."

"We could go to a movie or something, if you want instead?" Brooke offered.

"What is this? Brooke Davis offering to give up her Friday night of boys and booze for a movie?"

"Not just a movie. A movie with you. I was thinking today in study hall that we haven't really hung out lately."

"We hang out all the time."

"No. Me, you, Nathan, Tim, and half the basketball team hang out. We haven't had any girl time."

"And you're sure this is how you want to spend your Friday night?"

"Why is that so hard to believe? I'm more than just sex and booze. So what do you say, Peyt?"

"What do you want to see?" Peyton asked setting down her sketchbook. Brooke smiled triumphantly.  
"Something with hot boys in it."

"I thought there was more to you than boys and booze." Peyton teased.

"There is, but what else do you want to look out for two hours?"

"True."

"Well, let's go friend."

"Thank, Brooke."

"For what?"

"For being my friend."

"Always, P. Sawyer, always."

Both girls smiled and left for the theater.

* * *

It was half past twelve when Peyton got back to her house. Brooke was going to a party, but Peyton had opted out. She really was tired and as much as she enjoyed spending time with Brooke tonight, she missed Nathan. She never thought she'd be the kind of girl to get hung up on a guy, but Nathan brought out something in her. He made her feel alive and passionate.

When she walked into her room, she was surprised to see him stretched out across her bed asleep. She smiled and set her bag down before crawling on the bed next to him. She watched him as he slept, it was only then that she realized how young he was, how young she was. It seemed that they both were fighting against the world, but watching him sleep, he looked like an innocent sixteen year old boy with nothing to worry about. She leaned down and placed a light kiss on his lips. It was enough to wake him.

"Hey," he said opening his eyes. She smiled and he kissed her. "Where you been?"

"At the movies with Brooke."

"Davis?" Brooke wasn't the Friday night movie kind of girl. She was known for her wild streak. "How'd you talk her into that?"

"I didn't. She came by and asked."

"That's interesting."

"I thought so too."

"So what did you see?"

"The new Brad Pitt movie."

"Any good?"

"I wouldn't know. Brooke couldn't stop talking about his rock solid abs and how no one around here looked nearly that good."

"She would know."

"So how was dinner?" Nathan rolled his eyes. "That bad?"

"It's like everything is a competition with them. Who scored the most in game six of their freshman season, who's business is making more money, who's wife is a better cook. They can't let anything just be."

"I'm sorry," she said rubbing his back gently. He smiled, thankful that someone understood where he was coming from. "So have you been here long?"

"Not really."

"I'm glad you came by."

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice. All through dinner and the two hour conversation that followed, I couldn't think about anything other than you and shower. That little offer you gave earlier had definite staying power."

"It did, did it?" He nodded and pulled her on top of him. His hands sliding slowly up the very familiar legs of his girlfriend and his mind thanking the stars that she loved mini-skirts just as much as he did. Eventually, he brought his hands to her face, rubbing her cheek gently with his thumb as he kissed her hard. The sex they had together was full of passion and desire. It was rough and it was sometimes painful, but there were little things, like rubbing her cheek, that he did to remind her that he remembered. He remembered why they were together, what it was like the first time they had clumsily stumbled down the road of sex, and most importantly he wanted her to remember that he wasn't going to leave. He knew that's what she was afraid of and he didn't want her to be afraid anymore, at least not with him. So while she was nipping lightly on his neck and digging her nails into his back, he was doing the little things that he knew made her feel safe. Because as much as he didn't want to admit it to anyone, he liked her, even in all her punk and disorderly glory. He liked her.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you everyone for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying my interpretation of the story. About a group interaction scene, there will be one in the upcoming chapters. I still find Nathan and Peyton to be really interesting and though their relationship was dysfunctional by the time we saw it, I believe that at one time it was extremely passionate and I hope to capture that in this piece of work. Please review, they make me happy!_

Not Our Song  
**Chapter 3**

Peyton opened her eyes and was greeted by the bright sun streaming through her window and an empty bed. Nathan, whose arms she had fallen asleep in, was gone. It didn't surprise her though. They'd been doing this for months now, but it hadn't gotten any easier with time. For once in her life, she wished someone would stay and she really wanted that person to be Nathan.

It was almost ten and way too early to be up on a Saturday morning. Peyton pulled the covers over her head to block out the light and snuggled back into her rumpled sheets that still smelled like her boyfriend. She smiled.

"You're still in bed?" A husky voice called from the doorway. She felt the bed shift when he sat down. "You really are just another lazy artist," he teased. Nathan yanked the covers from his girlfriend's body, exposing her curled up, almost naked form.

"Nathan," Peyton grumbled. "I thought you had left."

"I did and then I went home, worked out, had a jog with dad and grandpa, then breakfast and now I'm back. I should have known your lazy butt would still be sleeping."

"It's your fault." Peyton stretched her arms above her head, exposing her taught stomach. Nathan smiled and grabbed her hips, pulling her to him.

"Is that right?" He kissed her belly button. "How about you brush your teeth and then we have that shower?"

"Is it that bad?" Peyton asked covering her mouth.

"It's always bad, Peyt. We're not in the movies." She shoved him and walked down the hall to her bathroom. Nathan walked in behind her and removed his shirt.

"Imnotshoweringwithyou." She mumbled, her mouth full of toothpaste. Nathan just smirked and turned the water on. Peyton rinsed her mouth out and then leaned against the counter to watch him.

He may only be fifteen, but he was gorgeous. She knew he worked out extensively because of his father, but she wasn't going to complain, at least not too much. She enjoyed the fruits of his labor on a daily basis. And now, watching the muscles in his back move as he turned the faucets, she was grateful once again.

Nathan turned around and caught her staring. He walked to her, trapping her body between his in the counter, his arms resting casually at each side of her. He looked into her eyes and just stared back. It unnerved most girls. His long, sometimes cold, stares. Peyton wasn't one of those people. She loved it about him. His intensity, his passion. Those were the things about him that attracted her, that drove her insane most of the time, but also made her stay around.

"I'm still now showering with you," she said several moments later.

The bathroom became foggy from the heat of the water and as Nathan lowered his mouth to her ear and spoke, his voice husky, "You're only denying yourself, Peyt. I can see it in your eyes." And he was right, it was written all over her face, just how much she wanted him. She always did. "But if you don't want to, you can just watch." He nipped lightly at her neck and then kissed her cheek before stepping out of the rest of his clothing and into the shower.

Peyton let out a low sigh, realizing she had been holding her breath the last few moments. She really hated what he did to her. Or not really what he did, she liked that. She just wished she had a bit more control over when it happened. Nathan had too much power for his own damn good. This was one of those moments where she undeniably wanted him, but in order to maintain even a little sense of control, she had to walk away. And that's just what she did.

Several minutes later, a now clean Nathan reappeared in her room. "I'm impressed." Peyton just smiled and walked to the bathroom to take her own shower.

----

"So where are we going?" She asked climbing into Nathan's SUV. He had gotten a hardship license several months early, something she was sure Dan arranged. It was nice to be able to come and go as they pleased.  
"It's a surprise."

"A surprise that includes Tim and the rest of the team?"

"I told you, Peyton. It's just you and me for the day."

"And tonight?"

"You know tonight is …"

"Steve's party. I know and the whole team is going to be there. Yada. Yada. Yada." She whined.

"It's not going to be that bad and besides after the day I have planned, you'll be willing to do whatever I want."

"I wouldn't bet on it."

"I really think you're going to love it, Peyt."

"Just like I loved the UNC basketball game we went to last year."

"It's not basketball. Can you please stop bitching? This is supposed to be fun."

"I know. So, where are we going?"

"To Charleston."

"For what?"

"I'm not telling."

----

Almost an hour later, Nathan stopped the SUV in downtown Charleston.

"Where are we?" Peyton asked as she looked around for a clue as to where it was exactly he was taking her.

"Come on. It's a few blocks down." Peyton met Nathan on the side walk and he took her hand as they made their was to his destination. "Do you want to give me some clues?"

"You're really going to like it, Peyton."

"You've said that already."

"Right. You're going to like it and well, I'm probably not."

"Then why are we going? I don't want to listen to you gripe all day."

"You mean, like you've been doing. Come on, I want to do this for you and even though I wouldn't come here on my own, I would do this for you."

"I really hope this is all you're making it out to be."

"Well, see for yourself." He stopped and turned to the building in front of them.

"Are you serious?" Peyton asked, a smile already stretching across her face, as she turned to him.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you to all that reviewed and for the compliments. I'm glad that you are enjoying this story. I love writing Nathan and Peyton, so it's wonderful to hear what you all think of the story. _

**Not Our Song  
**_Chapter 4_

Peyton looked from Nathan to the place in front of them and then back again. She kissed his lips softly. "Thank you."

"So is it a surprise?" She nodded. "And I take it you like it?"

"Nathan, it's the absolute last place I ever thought you to take me and the only place I've ever really wanted to go."

He smiled satisfied that his gesture had been so well received. "Well, then why are we still standing out here?"

With their hands intertwined, the two walked inside The Charleston Renaissance Gallery.

Nathan and Peyton spent the next four hours in the gallery. Truth be told, Nathan was bored out of his mind. Peyton had talked about almost every painting, sculpture, and drawing they'd seen, but none of it made any sense to him. He didn't care that Andrew John Henry Way was the best still life artist of the nineteenth century or that William Henry Johnson was one the greatest modern artists of the twentieth century. Peyton had told him enough times for him to realize he had no appreciation for art.

However, it was all worth it too see the look on her face. She'd been a little sad lately. She tried to hide it and most the time she did, but sometimes he would catch a sign of it in the hall or at night while he was watching her on the web cam. He could talk to her, but talking wasn't his thing. Most the time, he interpreted her wrong and that just led to a fight. He knew that wouldn't make her happy.

Another thing he knew was how much she loved art and if it took spending a day at an art gallery to make her smile, he would do it. Contrary to what everyone else thought, he wasn't a complete ass. He did care about her. It wasn't just about sex, not that it wasn't a highlight. He could sleep with any girl in the school if he wanted, but he didn't. He liked Peyton.

His thoughts were interrupted by Peyton. "Thanks so much, Nate." She slipper her fingers through his and kissed his cheek.

"So you liked it?"

"I loved it. I can't even tell you how much."

"Enough to willingly go to Steve's party with me tonight?"

"Absolutely." She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned in close. "And a lot more." He smirked and kissed her forehead before they walked out of the gallery.

* * *

It was close to eleven before Peyton and Nathan arrived at Steve's party. They were quickly greeted by Tim and Brooke. Tim handed Nathan a beer and began whining about what took them so long as Brooke slipped her arm through Peyton's and dragged her to the porch.

"So you've got a pretty large smile on your face tonight, P. Sawyer."

"I know."

"And I'm guessing it's because of that boyfriend of yours. I always figured he was good in the sack, but has he learned some new moves?"

"He took me to an art gallery."

Brooke's eyes widened. "Seriously." She chuckled in disbelief. "Nathan Scott. In an art gallery? I never thought I'd see the day."

"Well, it's true."

"So, I guess you repaid him fully, because his smile is almost as big as yours and I know that didn't come from the gallery visit."

"Something like that."

"I'm glad you had a good day with him, Peyt," Brooke said seriously.

"Me too."

"Now, though, I think we should get you a drink."

* * *

"Where have you been, Nate? I've been here for two hours, dude."

"I had some other things to do."

"Like Peyton," Vegas supplied as he joined the two other boys. Tim laughed and Nathan just smirked. "Never have to worry about this boy not getting any ass. Though, I must admit I'm a bit surprised your still with blondie. She's hot and all, but you've never been a real relationship type of guy. Plus, she's so damn moody."

"He's right there." Sam, a junior point guard joined the circle. "Last week in Bio, she nearly ripped my head off."

"You groped her!" Brooke exclaimed as she and Peyton joined the boys.

"You groped her?" Nathan was pissed. "How the fuck do you just grope my girlfriend?"

"The same way you groped mine last year," Sam retorted quickly.

"That was different."

"How?"

"She wanted it."

"And who's to say Peyton, didn't?"

"Peyton!" Nathan yelled.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Scott."

"You just said she did, dumbass."

A large group of teens had crowded around to watch the two. It happened all the time and for the life of her Peyton could not figure out what teenage boys got out of fighting.

"Nathan, just let it go," Peyton said stepping between them now.

"Yeah, man, just let it go," Sam mocked.

"Peyton. Get out of my way."

"Nate, please don't."

"Peyton."

"Isn't this adorable. They're fighting."

Peyton moved quickly and watched as Nathan's fist connected with the shorter boy's face. Sam had pushed him too far and she knew it, as did everyone else. Nathan connected again and no one even attempted to separate them.

"For god's sake, will someone make them stop!" Peyton yelled.

A few punches later, they were separated. Nathan walked outside, barely a scratch on him as Brooke and another guy from the team helped Sam to the couch.

Peyton retrieved a bag of ice from the kitchen before going outside to Nathan. He was leaning against the side of the house, seething.

"Let me see your hand," she instructed softly.

"It's fine." He spat, not looking at her.

"Nathan." Her voice was stronger now. "Give me your hand. If you don't ice it, it's going to swell."

"I said, it's fine."

"Damn it, Nathan. Stop being such an baby. You know you're going to ice it, so why fight with me?"

"Why the fuck is Sam McCloud groping you?" He asked coldly.

"Because he's a boy and that's what they do." She snapped. "Will you just let me put this on your hand."

"It's fine, Peyton."

"It's not fine," she said finally grabbing his hand. He winced. "See." His hand rested in hers as she placed the bag of ice on it. "Why do you always have to hit everybody?" She asked softly.

"I don't hit everybody, only everybody that deserves it."

"And he deserved it?"

"Yeah and so does anyone else that puts their fucking hands on you!"

"I took care of it then."

"Whatever. He pissed me off, so I hit him. It's that simple."

"And now you've fucked up your hand. You're dad is going to have a fit."

"Can we please not talk about him now?" Peyton nodded, knowing that Dan was not the subject to put Nathan in a better mood. Several minutes of silence passed.

"I really had a good time today. Thank you for taking me."

"Some day it turned out to be." He grumbled.

Peyton brought her hand to his face and made him look into her eyes. "I'm serious, Nathan. It meant a lot." He could see that it did and he melted. His fight had put a big damper on their whole day and that wasn't what he had wanted.

"I'm glad." He kissed her gently, but when he pulled away, she pulled him back. Peyton cupped his face in her hands, pulling him closer and deeper into her. She wanted him. The ice fell to the ground as he hand became tangled in her curly blond locks. He wanted her. "Let's go." They pulled apart, both gasping for air, their eyes dark with lust. She smiled and as they walked to his SUV hand-in-hand.

* * *

_A/N. The Charleston Renaissance Gallery is an actual gallery in Charleston, though I've never been to it._


End file.
